Robert Carl Elander

Robert Carl Elander, 87, of Saugerties, NY, passed away on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, in Orlando, FL.  He was born on May 6, 1935, in Visalia, CA and was the son of the late Carl Elander and Velma Stewart.  Robert served in the Navy from 1953 to 1959 as an electronics technician.  He married Charlotte Calhoun from Columbus, Indiana in Honolulu Hawaii on January 9, 1959.

Robert graduated from Indiana Technical College in 1962 as an Electrical Engineer in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and was hired by IBM Kingston, NY upon graduation.  He started his career with IBM in 1962 and retired in 1987.  He had several patents with IBM relating to the early days of encoding and encryption.  He received several patents, Inventor of the Year awards and worked on the international committee that created the ANSII standards for computers.

Robert was a member of 4-H in his youth and a leader of the Black Forest 4-H Club in NY.  He was a member of the NYS Sheep and Wool Growers Association and raised prized winning Oxford sheep for many years.  He was also a member of the Fair Street Reformed Church.  Bob was a volunteer of the Woodstock volunteer fire company #4 in Zena, Highwoods sportsman club and loved farming and being outdoors.  He was a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association and loved flying his Cessna airplane. 

Robert is survived by his children Keliitane (Julie) Elander of Rockwall, TX, Karen (Jack) Wilson of Orlando, FL. and Kathi (Richard) Dunn of Lake Katrine, NY.  His grandchildren Joshua (Joann) Elander, Samuel (Macy) Elander, David Wilson, John (Britany) Wilson, Elizabeth Wilson and Alexandria (Rudolf) Dunn Dieudonne.  His greatgrandchildren Jack and Benjamin Wilson, Dovasari and Vivienne Dunn Dieudonne, his sister, Maryanne (Rufus) Durden and his brother, John Elander.

He was predeceased by his wife, Charlotte and his grandson, Richard Z. Dunn.

Arrangements entrusted to Keyser Funeral & Cremation Service, Inc., 326 Albany Avenue, Kingston, NY 12401.  A tribute for Robert may be found at www.KeyserFuneralService.com, where you may leave memories and expressions of sympathy for his family. For those who wish, contributions in Robert’s memory may be made to the Fair Street Reformed Church Missions Ministry.  A private memorial service for Robert will be held in January.